Recommended Read
"Growing up in South Florida, I had many friends and neighbors of Cuban heritage, so this book not only offered a great historical perspective but was a particularly relevant read for me. The author does a wonderful job re-creating the place of Havana a few years before Fidel Castro died in 2016, as well as flashbacks to the late 1950s when factors including the sugar industry, the fabulously wealthy, and corrupt government officials caused revolutionary fervor to spread through every stratum of society. The novel follows two arcs. The first tells the story of Alisa and her Cuban-Revolution-era romance with a forbidden revolutionary. The second is the tale of Alisa's granddaughter Marisol's trip to Havana to write a travel piece on the relaxing relations between the U.S. and Cuba and to sneak her grandmother's ashes to their final resting place. This family saga flows smoothly over 60-ish years and has strong characters, some worry, some action, and a lot of hope. One of my favorite recent reads!" -Laura, Collection Development
